Unravelled
by Sara Loui
Summary: Missing scnesEpisode Based for Threads. Because there was so much in between we didnt see, I just had to start and write something about things going on between the scenes.
1. Chapter 1 Sam

Tittle: Unravelled

Author:Sara Lou

Rating:G (may change)  
Pairings: Jack/Other, (Jack/Sam lightly touched upon, may be subject to change)  
Catergory:Missing scenes/Episode Based

Status:As of now Work in Progress

Spoilers : Episode based for **Threads** which seems to have presented all of us in fafic world enough plit bunnies to keep us busy for months. So if you haven't seen the wonder that was **Threads** do not read any further.  
Warnings: Once more I repeat, spoilers for **THREADS**

Disclaimer:Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Sci Fi Channel, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. No copyright infringement whatsoever is intended. The story is for entertainment purposes only. The original characters, situations and story are mine. Please check with me first if you want to archive or link to this story.

* * *

Unravelled 

Sam stood for a moment and felt a sudden urge to turn and walk right back up the stairs. At first glance the woman was certainly attractive, and on second close inspection,( from such a fair distance across the other side of the brefing room, through the Generals office window to his far door) it was obivous the General thought so too. It wasn't often you could hear him laughing, in fact he made a point of not doing so at all costs it seemed, so perhaps it was the small spark of laughter she could hear coming from the office from the two occupants which made her pause mid motion to swirl around and head away. She didn't wonder why the sudden urge came and went without too much of a pondering. It was a well manouvered drill between the two, Sam was just glad she hadn't been stuck in a elevator with them. Humming just wouldn't have seemed right coming from the General.

Taking a breath and trying to look nonchalant about what she had just seen, Sam headed towards the office as the General beckoned her in, catching her standing watching from the safety of the briefing room. As she entered the General was taking up his now familiar residence behind his desk.

"Sorry, sir. I saw you were with someone - I didn't want to interrupt"

Sam apologised for the minor itteruption and then chided herself inwardly for doing so, there had been nothing to apologise for, the General was already escorting the woman out of his office and she had meant to interrput, on any business he may have been attending. She had been trying for a week to keep her mind off the number of dire scenarios Daniel could have been involved, but enough was enough. She couldn't deal with it any longer.

"Whats up?" asked the General, looking a little squeumish at his desk as he glanced toward the door for a fleeting moment.

Sam's thoughts were on Daniel, but she couldn't pass up the chance to see him squirm just that little bit more, payback for the elevator incident. She'd ridden the elevator another three floors before realising she had been heading in the wrong direction. Avoiding his question, she launched in with her own.

"Who was that?"

The General glanced up again, looking as if he was wracking his brains for a clever answer. None obviously arose.

"Um, Kerry Johnson, CIA." He replied, looking as he wanted to swiftly move on from the subject at any cost.

Sam's brain whirred, and she remembered reading the report on the new agents being assigned about the rogue NID/Goa'uld agents. She hadn't realised they had arrived, or that the General had made more than mutaul aquaintances with some of them. Feeling that the clarity would settle if she spoke these thoughts, and being a sucker for awkward situations, she continued on her quest to see O'Neill shift a little on that damned General's seat of his.

"I've heard the name. Oh, yeah, she was heading up the investigation into, uh, Goa'uld still at large after the incident with The Trust."

"Yeah" replied the General.

Staving off the want to continue on the merry plight of uncomfortable situations brought on by undiscussed feelings of the past six years, Sam jumped into the real reason she'd came to his office.

"Sir, I wanted to talk to you about ..." she paused as the General cut her off with retaliation.

"Carter."

A raise of his voice and hands, were not going to stop her from trying yet again to have this out with him, although the fact that he knew exactly what she was going to say, gave her a minuscule pause for thought. Sam pushed the thought away and continued, unwilling to allow the subject to lay on the floor any longer.

"We haven't heard from him in a week."

"Doesn't mean anything."

Sam found herself pondering for a moment or two once more. Was the General in denial? Or was the new woman on base, one who didn't walk around in uniform twenty four seven , had long hair and got to show that she had brains and beauty helping take his mind off things. Chiding herself for letting it get to her, Sam tried to continue.

"Sir, we know he was captured by Replicators. Chances are he was on board a Replicator ship when it disintegrated."

"All we know for sure is that he's missing."

Now she really was wondering whether denial was really that powerful, it had been hard the first time, and that time they knew that in some form Daniel still existed. This time, they had no idea what had happened to Daniel, but the General was insitent on letting things go on as normal. Sam couldn't get herself around to that way of thinking.

"Sooner or later ..." she tried again, in hope that perhaps the mask would drop and he'd actually let down a few defences, a vain hope she knew nothing could come of.

"Forget it! I'm not fallin' for it this time"

Sam wondered if the job was taking it's toll and eyed him with a slight frown.

"Falling for it?" she asked, regretting doing so even as she spoke the words.

"Yeah! How many times have you thought he was gone, and then he shows up - in one form or another. I'm sorry, but we're not having a memorial service for someone who is not dead."

The General took his eyes from her and Sam watched as he galnced about the small room.

"You hear that! I'm not buyin' it!"

Following his eye direction, Sam glanced about the room and tried to catch on to his way of thinking, and also trying to wonder whether to pick up the phone and call the infirmary. She gazed back as the General looked at her once more.

"What? He's just waitin' for us to say a bunch of nice things about him. Next thing you know, he'll come waltzin' through that door, like, right now."

Sam found herself looking at the door with a fleeting hope, the General had a way of painting a picture over the real world even for fleeting moments.

"Waltzing ... now." Uttered the General, sounding in similar hope.

Sam watched the door for another second, before turning once more to the General who has also moved his eyes away from the door to look at her. Taking a breath and deciding that awkward situations and high levels of denial were enough for one sitting inside the enclosed space of the General's office and pushed herself away from the desk she has been half leaning over.

"I'll see you later Sir"

Without waiting for dismissal she exited and made the swift getaway up the stairs, wishing she had done so the moment the urge had touched her in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2 Jack

Jack followed the exiting form of the woman he still looked upon as his 2IC; Though his promotion had shifted him from that cpacity of their relationship. He brought his eyes back to the folders piled on his desk with a sigh and placed the pen atop the one open before him. Leaning back on his chair, with a mumbled 'For cyring out loud' at the event which had just taken place, he pulled open the top drawer and pulled out the thin lone folder from the mess inside the drawer and dropped it on his desk.

The powers above him, had insisted he make some official recognition of the absent Daniel and Jack had complied with the lone piece of A4 sitting inside the folder, standing his ground by writing a report and stating Daniel MIA. This was something he had only stated officially via the report and refused to be drew any further into the matter. Outside his office he barely acknowledged Daniel as MIA, personally he was treating it as Daniel being away on a vacation.

He knew Carter in some way got where he was coming from, as did Teal'c and the few meager few who knew how his mind worked. He knew it could be seen in a bad light, that he was letting it get to him, that it had become personal, too hell with it, Daniel was his best friend, it was personal and he refused to let the fears that he wouldn't be coming back this time, see any light. And if he had his way, then Carter, Teal'c and those other few who really cared about Daniel, think anything other than Daniel was out of sight, not out of mind and certainly would be returning. Jack was a believer in gleaning from past experience, and Daniel had an uncanny knack of showing up just as the memorial service had gone ahead, people had swapped the favourite stories of the fallen comrade and packed up his life into boxes.

Jack tapped his fingers atop of the folder and looked over at the far door once more, with a slight glimmer of hope that Daniel would waltz in and nothing of the past few weeks had happened. The shrill ring of the telephone brought him back down to earth.

"O'Neill"

"Hey, I forget to say, are we still on for tonight?"

Jack let a small smile alight his lips and he sat back once more, bringing the folder with him with a stubborn look.

"As long as nothing comes up of course" he replied, opening the top desk drawer and slipping the file back in.

"I look forward it" said Kerry "Your place at seven? I'll bring the food"

"I've got stuff in" replied Jack, swirling slightly on his chair

"Yeah, I've seen you fridge Jack" came the light response

"Seven it is...see you then"

"If not sooner"

"I live in hope"

Jack placed the receiver down when the soft click replied to him and picked up the pen, and tried to put his thoughts to his work and the evening ahead. 


	3. Chapter 3 Kerry

Kerry Johnson left Jack O'Neills office with a glint in her eye and to the sounds of light laughter from Jack himself. Walking slowly through the winding curving corridors that made up the SGC she found herself flitting through the past few days she'd been there. It certainly was a interesting command, she'd had the oppurtunity to the Stargate itself in action as well as read a few key reports surrounding the work she and her colleugues had been assigned to the for. Those alone had intrigued her, as well as the commands overseer and General, Jack O'Neill. The fact that the reports she had read were mainly surrounding the infamous SG-1's team, when Jack had been leading them only drew her too him a little more. She knew there was a spark between them the instant she had arrived standing in his office being introduced.

There was something about him, the way his eyes glanced over herself and her two collegues, a wary look wondering if they were there ultimately there for the good or the bad of the base. She had immediately made up her own mind to put his worries to rest as soon as was possible, after reading about the man he was definitely someone she had wanted as a friend not an enemy. After a brief discussion about their findings already surrounding their investigation, Kerry felt a little more relaxed knowing the General had all the important details.

After that one initial brief encounter of Jack, Kerry had found herself wondering when she would have another chance to speak with him. It had been later that day, by a fluke almost, she had found herself wandering aimlessly around the wrong floor after taking a few wrong turns, and wondering how embarassing it was not to be able to follow the simple rule of coloured lines. Thankfully Jack had found her as she found herself back on track after the help from an airman and she had found herself apologising for wandering about. Putting her straight at ease with a light sarcastic remark from the General about every hall looking the same, she had found herself accepting an informal invitation to the commissary for a bite to eat.

From there, a conversation which had continued for over two hours and extended far beyond the margins of business, she had accepted a more formal invitation for a drink off base with Jack. There was something about his eyes, his smile and the fact that he had accepted her already as someone trying to do good not bad in her short time at the SGC.

After returning home she had talked to herself in the mirror for over an hour wondering if she had made a good descision. She had only just met the man, and was already accpeting dinner invitations. Complete stranger, kept jumping to the forefront of her mind, I'm a big girl, she had retorted, the childish pleasures of, he's is quite handsome and very very attractive sung in her head. Her reflection stared solemnly for a moment, having known how messy mixing buisness and pleasure was. Still this was only drinks and why should she refuse herself some male companionship?

And so the days had passed, quite happily. It was obvious they were attracted to each other from the very start and that work was also a firm forefront of their lives. But Jack O'Neill was certainly a man to enjoy the pleasure of life also, and with a mutual agreement of not letting anything between them affect work, they had started out on their relationship. Still Kerry couldn't help but notice that Jack O'Neill still had barriers raised, high barriers which she doubted anyone could penetrate. He spoke little of work if he could help it, and skirted the subject of Daniel Jackson with subtle aplomb. But this was a relationship with self set bounds of mutual interest and she wasn't sure how far she should or could push the subject and let it lie.

Another subject Kerry had noticed Jack avoided was that of the now SG-1 commander, Lt Colonel Samantha Carter. When she had come up for a moment of conversation when they had first started to meet each other outside of work, Jack spoke highly of her, but was refused to be drawn into any more conversation surrounding her. Kerry had noticed a change of charcater for a moment as Colonel Carter came into conversation, a light shadow only lasting for a moment. The way Jack's eyes dropped, and slight change of demeanour showed there was more to the two than perhaps met the eye. But putting her lack of knowledge of the people she was talking about,after all she hadn't had the chnace to meet the woman. Kerry put her qualms aside and continued on, making a mental note to avoid mentioning the Col again unless Jack himself brought her up.

Arriving at her office, which was devoid of her companions, she assumed they were at the commissary, they had picked up a healthy appetite for the jello they served there; Sitting at her desk, she picked up the receiver and dialled for the Generals office.

"O'Neill"

With a smile she reminded him of the evening ahead 


	4. Chapter 4 Daniel

Daniel paused at the door for a moment, his memories seemd to be all a blur. What was going on? The pain which had been thundering painfully about his chest had etched away, and the last blur of vision was onto a replicator tiled floor. His feet seemed to propel himself forward through the doors, and he found himself in a sixties designed retro café. Wondering why the place seemed familiar he followed the instructions of the sign 'please seat yourself' and rounded around the booths to sit himself. 

Wondering at the familiar vibes he was getting from the place, he acknowledged the arrival of the waitress beside him.

"What can I get for you?"

Looking up, he found himself staring at a vaguely familiar face. Hadn't he just been talking to this woman? Why did she seem so familiar. Had he been here before, and had the same waitress served him then? He glanced back down at the table before him and closed his eyes for a moment, hoping for the clouding which seemed to be surrounding his mind to shift. Glancing up at the woman once more, his mind sifted through names...Oma? Oma de Sala... was that her name. Yes, a voice seemed to reply to him. His body involuntairly shivered for a moemnt, the clouds he'd been feeling lifted suddenly and he found himself sifting through an immense amount of knowledge flooding back to him. He was Daniel Jackson, and the last thing he had seen were not replicator chips tiling the floor of replicarters ship. It was the bright familiar surrounding light of ascension. Before he had a moment to speak to the woman standing before him, a voice sounded behind him.

"Hey! What do I have to do to get some more coffee around here?"

"Find your enlightenment"

Definetely sounded like Oma de Sala, at least he thought it did. Daniel checked the table and found nothing to order from and so looked back to Oma.

"Menus?"

"We don't need them here - just order what you'd like."

"OK, I'll have the truth, with a side order of clarity, please"

"The Replicator version of Sam was in your head trying to access the knowledge buried in your subconscious, but you gained control of her instead. She killed you to stop you. That's where I stepped in. How's that?"

"Pretty clear"

* * *

Oma watched silently on the sidelines as Daniel Jackson once more walked along the plains and ignored the irritating snigger of 'Jim' behind her, remarking snidely on how long it would take Jackson this time to figure out her little role in the whole scheme of things surrounding his small part of the universe.

She also ignored the chiding remarks of the watchers, the shaking of heads and shuns of her peers. Once more she had broken the rules, intervened, some even questioned why she offered Daniel ascension once more he had been so insistent on his return the last time. She had been there when Daniel had fought so hard agaisnt the replicator, all to save his minute corner of the infinite galaxy. Then he knew how small and insignificant it all was, when the replicator opened his mind to the possibilities hidden within. And yet he had still fought, had taken the oppurtune moment to save his race, fighting her where he was the most powerful. For those few seconds he had been a most powerful force, and Oma refused to let him die there, after such revelation of his potential. Even the replicator had realised the potential power Daniel could posess, and killed him in a futiel attempt to prevent him from stopping her weak attempt at galactic domination.

'Jim' had been present then also, too busy heckling the replicators to realise Oma stepping forward once more and bringing Daniel through the mist. The others had stepped in, refusing to allow her to go further. Impossible, he must decide for himself. And so there they were, waiting for Daniel to gain some clarity in his wanderings. Eventually they found themselves sat at booths, digesting the neccesary information in his mind to fit in, whilst able to watch as always the plight of the one who had fallen from their graces long ago, dogged by the incessant mistake she had brought upon herself and the human she refused to give up on.

* * *

Daniel had to admit, although the answer had been clear, things were only just starting to clear in his head. The familiarity of the diner was overwhelming and for a moment he was sitting opposite his grandfather, and the atmosphere was a little more strained and awkward. The scent of waffles with syrup caused to speak.

"Waffles." He said, with a slight frown at the memory.

"Bacon on the side?" asked Oma, scribbling into the pad

"No - I remember this place." Replied Daniel, glancing over the table once more at the misty imgae of Nick swathed in black, trying to make up for what the day had brought.

"You should - it came from your mind"

"My grandfather brought me here after my parents' funeral. I had waffles"

Daniel found himself explaining the strange occurrence to Oma, although at the back of his mind he knew she knew everything anyway. But the clarification he stated, helped bring his mind more into focus as to what was going on.

"Waffles it is." Said Oma, before leaving to place the order with the cook.

"Wait." Said Daniel, with uncertainty "How do I know it's really you this time? How do I know this isn't some trick Replicator Sam's playing to stop me from controlling her?"

Oma turned with that familiar all knowing look in her eyes and Daniel didn't need an answer, but she continued.

"How deep is the river if you cannot see the bottom?"

'Yes, defintely Oma' thought Daniel, not even trying to comprhend the meaning. Once he started figuring things out, he could start swapping rhyme and reason with her. Right now he need to stop and think and unravel the images and memories in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5 Jacob

Jacob Carter quietly approached his daughters lab and watched her silently from the doorway as she half heartedly worked on some gadget at her desk. There was a frown on her face and Jacob doubted it was the gadget which was causing the worry. 

"Hey Kiddo"

"Dad"

Sam smiled as he entered and set down the gadget. Jacob leaned on her desk looking at her.

"You ok?" he asked with concern

"Fine" replied Sam, with a slight shrug of her shoulders at the question.

"You talk to Jack?" continued Jacob, hoping she didn't notice him leaning with a little more heaviness than usually required.

Jacob didn't miss the look which flashed over her face at his reference to the meeting she had had with Jack O'Neill. He had been the one to advise her too talking with Jack again about the situation surrounding Daniel. O'Neill was stubborn as a mule, and he knew usually Sam would let the subject lie, after her last try at talking about it with him. Jacob remembered finding in her lab, similar to this time around after that conersation, only the piece of equipment she had been working on then, seemed to be taking a beating rather than a fix.

"He's still insitent" replied Sam, pushing herself away from the desk and glancing toward him "What else do you expect. I told you how he felt about it"

Jacob held his hands up in mock surrender and shook his head.

"I was actually thinking perhaps you needed to talk to someone about it, and seeing as Teal'c isn't around, Jack seemed to be the next best thing"

* * *

It was true, Jacob knew, that had Teal'c been around, Sam would have felt some companionship in the loss she was trying to put at the back of her mind. Unlike O'Neill, Sam needed answers, it was natural for her to find those answers or acknoweldge the possibilities. It was her very nature, her essence, the person she was. Although in one way she didn't want to accept that Daniel may be gone thiis time, part of her needed proof that he was either alive or dead. Daniel's dissaperance gave her neither and with her CO refusing to be brought around to talking on the matter she was stuck between a rock and a hard place as to the situation and the only person she had around to talk about it was himself.

This reason alone, had held Jacob back from telling Sam what she needed to know concerning himself and Selmac. It was starting to take its toll, but she didn't need this heaped upon her. Jacob recognised the need she had for someone to talk with about Daniel, his loss, and the burden she had set upon herself that in some way this was all her fault and she could have prevented it. Jacob had tolled over, talked with her, reassured her, that she couldn't be blamed for any part of the situation, but Sam Carter was also stubborn when it came to her feelings and thoughts on a matter.

Jacob wasn't blind to the situation between his daughter and Jack O'Neill. It was certainly something he'd held his tongue about, although he and Selmac had had plenty of conversations concerning the relationship. He couldn't help but notice the barrier between the two, which had been growing, where once they had gotten over it and worked around it, now it seemed a strain on whatever relationship they had left. And it had all started up when Pete Shanahan had come onto the scene. When Sam spoke of him, her face lit up and some of her worries seemed to be pushed aside, if only for a few minutes. The current demeanour of O'Neill and his refusal to talk on the subject of Daniel was starting to push Jacob to his limits. He understood the rules, he was airforce after all, but the fact that Jack had pushed Sam away even further because of her trying to find happiness elsewhere didn't do anything to put Jacob at rest. As a father he felt a duty towards his daughter and had he been in better frame of mind and health, he may have marched right up to O'Neill's office and had a few choice words to say. But he held his tongue, stood his ground and tried to be there for Sam as much as possible in the short time he had left with her.

* * *

Sam didn't reply, but stood and gathered a few folders from her desk.

"Look Dad, I've got some stuff I need to do. Petes arriving in an hour, you still up to meeting him"

"Of course honey" replied Jacob, going with the change of subject, mainly because an hour would give him a chance to rest more and build on his confidence at telling Sam the truth about what was going on with him.

They exited her office together and walked along the hall. Sam mumbled a quick 'see you later' and headed off in one direction and Jacob stood and watched until she turned into another corridor and dissappeared. He set his mind towards the impending meeting of Pete Shanahan and wondered what the man set to marry his daughter would be like.


End file.
